Great Black History: Mark Dean is a Founding Father of Computer Science Theory

If you’ve ever used a computer, you should probably know about Mark E. Dean.  Dean is an inventor who led the team that developed the ISA bus, an important part of the modern PC.  He also led the team that designed the first one gigahertz computer processor chip and played a key role in the creation of the computer keyboard.

Dean holds three of IBM’s original nine PC patents.  He was born in Jefferson City, Tennessee and holds a bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Tennessee.  He earned his PhD in the same field from Stanford University and is the first African American to become an IBM Fellow, which is the highest level of technical distinction given out by the company.

He has been inducted into the Inventors Hall of Fame and currently serves as the Chief Technology Officer for IBM in the Middle East and Africa.   He now holds more than 20 patents and also taught Computer Science at Harvard University.